


Most precious gift

by LadyBlack3



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Evil Albus Dumbledore, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23965000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBlack3/pseuds/LadyBlack3
Summary: With a little help from Regulus Black, Harry and Hermione learn of the Headmaster's deception and hunger for power. But they will find a way to punish the old coot. After all, the best revenge is to live your life well.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Harry Potter
Comments: 8
Kudos: 84
Collections: Harmony For Essentials Gift Exchange





	Most precious gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chiefs91](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiefs91/gifts).



> Written as part of the Harmony For Essentials Gift Exchange for the wonderful Chiefs91, whose favourite trope is 'finding out Dumbledore or someone else in the background was manipulating the bad situations and Harmony reacting to it'. 
> 
> Thank you for the work that you do during this challenging time, my other half is a key worker as well and we are both sending you the best of wishes for the health of your family and your well-being. I hope this story makes you smile! xx

**October 1998**

Harry snorted at the front page of the Prophet, setting his toast down to not drop it as his shoulders shook with laughter.Hermione looked up to see what was so funny and finished making the tea before returning to the small table with a lovely porcelain teapot. 

“What’s so funny?” she asked curiously. 

“The trial began,” Harry grinned and offered her the newspaper.

She wouldn’t usually deem the Daily Prophet worth even using as tinder, not to mention taking it seriously, but for this once, the side of her that took vicious joy in seeing the old coot’s humiliation felt a sense of deep satisfaction.

 **_TRIAL OF THE CENTURY_ ** ****

**_DUMBLEDORE: HERO OR VILLAIN?_ **

**_ by Rita Skeeter _ **

**_It has come as a shock to many of our readers when the Hit Wizard team arrested none other than Albus Dumbledore, former Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry and bearer of several prestigious offices, in the early hours of Saturday 10th October this year.Many had hailed the once-Headmaster for the many sacrifices and his role in leading the infamous Order of the Phoenix to challenge the reign of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._ **

“They’re still refusing to name him? It’s been nearly six months,” Hermione snorted.

Harry just shook his head dismissively. It was clear that despite some positive changes, wizarding Britain would remain in the Dark Ages for a long time… “Continue reading, I like it when you read,” he offered a small smile over the rim of his cup.

**_Standing accused of numerous charges including war crimes and use of unforgivable curses, the most startling has been the account of the crimes committed against the nation’s missing Hero, Lord Potter (17)._ **

“Skeeter is intent on keeping me younger than I am apparently,” Harry drawled, eyes rolling to the heavens in aggravation.

“Don’t worry, her time will come,” Hermione grinned, and he could have sworn her teeth looked as sharp as fay fangs.

**_The first day of the trial however ended in unmitigated disaster for the defence team, as the magical bindings keeping the ex-Headmaster waned and his litany of admissions to all of the charges rang loud and clear across the court room. It would appear that the accused is still suffering from the effects of an unknown spell or substance that forces him to admit to every dark misdeed. The trial had to be postponed for another week in an effort to ensure the proceedings can continue with the accused present in the courtroom._ **

_**The Auror department continues to search for the key witness in the case who submitted a compelling amount of evidence in the form of memories and written testimony. The Boy-Who-Lived however remains elusive, along with another third of the Golden Trio, the enterprising Miss Granger. Their disappearance after the Final battle came as a great surprise to the Wizarding society of Britain. This writer wonders whether the mastermind behind the disappearance isn’t the very Miss Granger, who has a history of breaking Lord Potter’s heart-** _

“Oh this utter tosh again,” she folded the paper and smacked it on the edge of table with a frown. “She can take her ‘Enterprising Miss Granger’ and shove it up her-“

Harry’s laughter interrupted her rant and she looked up, drinking in the sight of the genuine amusement lighting up his features. Though she was finally seeing more of his joy these days, this progress was months in the making. 

The war has taken an extraordinary toll on them all, but the pressure of his destiny weighted on Harry heavier with each day that passed by. The most infuriating thing about that destiny was that it wasn’t actually real. On the night the Death Eaters broke into Hogwarts and wrecked it on their way out, they nearly killed the Headmaster, causing chaos for the whole school. While the healers worked hard to sustain the Headmaster, Hermione raced to find Harry who had disappeared earlier that night. She found him, shivering and looking haunted in the bathroom on the second floor where they have hidden so many times in the past. Even Myrtle was keeping her distance, the haunted look in his eyes keeping her quiet. Once she managed to warm his freezing frame up and he showed her the locket with the note, her photographic memory kicked into gear. She knew she had seen those initials somewhere before, and she wasn’t wrong. Regulus Arcturus Black left behind a diary in the Room of Hidden Things, and she had briefly seen it when Harry asked her to put away the Half-blood Prince’s book as a peace offering.

It was all there. Regulus’ last entry was just after Harry’s birthday, which is when Sirius told them he disappeared. It was a devastating read, and she could see the light in Harry’s eyes dim as he processed what this account was telling him. The prophecy was made up by Dumbledore, so that the Headmaster wouldn’t have to die trying to kill Voldemort himself. Instead, stoking Voldemort’s paranoia, the prophecy resulted in the death of Harry’s parents and years of abuse by the Dursleys. Hermione’s mind initially rebelled against this account of events, arguing that it could have been written by anyone. But it would explain so much, the Headmaster’s machinations, keeping Harry in the dark all the time and refusing him leave from Dursleys.

Raised like a lamb for slaughter, he was a walking horcrux, expected to die to make Voldemort mortal once again. Hermione suspected that Dumbledore had some sort of plan to survive this and once Harry fulfilled his destiny, the wise Headmaster would swoop in and play the hero once again. Her fury could have lit up the castle but Harry surprised her by holding her back. No, they couldn’t prove anything even with the journal, it was their word against Dumbledore’s. And the horcruxes needed to be a priority to take down Voldemort first.

It took them a whole year to find them all, bar Nagini who remained by Voldemort’s side. Halfway through their time on the run, Ron abandoned them and never returned. It was just the two of them against the world once again, but no matter how long, cold and hungry their nights were, they persevered and relied on each other in ways they never have before. Knowing he was not alone and the desire for a new life once this was all over was what kept Harry going through those dark months. 

They finally had the locket, the cup, and the diadem, and one swing of the sword of Gryffindor each saw them destroyed. Two horcruxes remained - Harry himself and the boa constrictor. It was Hermione who came up with an idea of how to get rid of the horcrux inside him without dying. Ever since the Chamber of Secrets, Fawkes the Phoenix heeded Harry’s call and came to his aid. With utmost care, Hermione pressed the sword to Harry’s scar, just enough to pierce the skin and for the Basilisk venom to attack the horcrux. Feeling the darkness leave him and Harry’s body shutting down, the phoenix cried his beautiful silvery healing tears and closed the wound, chasing the venom out of Harry’s system. It took him two weeks to recover and regain his strength but they were ready for the final confrontation.

“You know I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you,” his words interrupted her memories, his sharp gaze clearly detecting the change in her focus.

She squeezed the hand that held hers tightly for a moment, the memory still haunting her. “I’m glad my charms held, you know. I never want to use an Unforgivable again,” she said honestly. 

She had only done so twice in her life. Once to save their lives at the Ministry, the second time to stop Albus Dumbledore. The night they arrived in the castle, he summoned them into his office grandiosely, with his damn twinkle and grandfatherly voice. He didn’t even get a chance to offer them a lemon drop before Hermione had the spell cast, channeling her fury at his deception into the power of the spell. That night he told them the truth, admitting to all of his crimes and deception, sealing his own fate. They sent the word out that Dumbledore’s health deteriorated and he left the castle to go into hiding, all the while keeping him in the office under Imperius, waiting.

It didn’t take long for Voldemort to take the bait. The battle lasted only a few hours, and with the snake killed by none other than Neville, Harry dispatched Voldemort’s weak, human form with an Expelliarmus that would go down in history. Exhausted, malnourished and injured, they allowed themselves to be fussed over by Poppy before releasing the Headmaster onto the masses with a strong compulsion to profess his sins. As they stood in the Headmaster’s office and looked at each other, they took the final step into their new life and used the floo to get as far as they could, first to London, they across the channel to Europe.

“No regrets?” he asked softly, the lines around his eyes slowly smoothing out day by day as he started finding his own peace. 

She smiled at him and nodded silently. It has been nearly six months and Hermione didn’t regret their departure for a second. They had only grown closer over the past weeks, recovering from their battle wounds and some of the deeper scars that were more than skin deep. They would move to a new local soon, keeping up their traveling for now. She could finish her education and decide about her future later. For now, this was all she needed.

 **25th December 1998** ****

It was hard to break a habit, especially one that grew out of necessity. Their nights spent sleeping in one bed used to be an attempt to stay warm and draw some human comfort rather than any attempt at intimacy. Now that they were free and safe, the nightmares prevailed and healing was slow, so they didn’t see a reason to stop.

This morning however the other side of the bed was cold and she was holding onto a pillow rather than Harry’s solid warm frame. A quick tempus revealed it was just past six, so she pulled on her swaddle jumper and fuzzy socks before slowly padding down the hall to their living room. She found him cradling a hot cup of tea on the window seat, watching the blanket of snow engulfing the forest beyond. This was their third destination since the war and so far her favourite.

“Hey,” she padded over to him, trying not to startle him. His greeting smile warmed her in a way her sweater never could. He lowered one of his legs and patted the window sill before him, and she gratefully shimmied onto the pillow and leaned back into his warmth.

He wrapped an arm around her securely, squeezing her closer to him for just a moment as if to reassure himself she was still there. “How did you sleep?” he breathed in the scent of her verbena shampoo and sleep, letting the wild curls springing up from her plait tickle his nose.

“Well, but I did miss you when I woke up,” she hummed

“I’m sorry, I wanted to find out the verdict from last night. Dumbledore got the kiss,” he explained. It was done, justice was served and they were happy and alive. 

“Good," was all she said on the topic, ready to move on as well. The verdict would never take back or repair the years of damage the old coot caused, but she hoped this would bring Harry some closure.

"I dreamt about our last Christmas,” he changed the subject, hoping to make her smile.

They had nearly lost their lives that night, but it was also the same night Harry got to visit his parents’ graves for the first time. It was in that moment, after everything they have gone through and Hermione’s kindness when she produced a wreath for their graves, he realised she was the most important woman in his life. He knew it was expected of him to think of Ginny and miss her, but after Ron’s second betrayal, all he had left of the Weasleys were fond memories and no desire to rekindle what was lost. Hermione was his family, and maybe one day they would have a family of their own.

“Would you like to go visit them today?” she asked gently, not sure they could arrange it on such short notice.

Harry shook his head, nuzzling into her neck. “They know I’m thinking about them and it’s much safer for us to not go just yet,” he acknowledged. “Is it bad that this year I just want to spend the day under the blanket with the woman I love?”

Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, still getting used to him verbalising his feelings so freely. “I would like that very much,” she agreed, turning her head to look at him. “Merry Christmas, Harry,” she leaned up, bumping her nose against his affectionately.

“Merry Christmas, Hermione,” he kissed her earnestly, knowing he didn’t need any more presents.

He had the most precious gifts of all - his freedom, and Hermione’s love for the rest of his days.


End file.
